D&D 5E Which edition easiest to adapt to 5e?

[fletch137]

My gaming library has a lot of good adventures from older editions I'd like to play with 5e.

I've no experience playing 5th Edition, though, so from those of you who do, which edition do you think is easiest to adapt to 5e rules?

A perfect scenario would be to crack open "Night Below" or "Tomb of Abysthor" and run it 5e-style right out the gate, but I'm assuming I'll have to adjust numbers of creatures encountered and amount of treasure found in order to keep in line with 5e.

Is there an edition that aligns closest to 5e adventure design that would require not as much fussing?

 

[Tzarevitch]

Third probably. Fifth is basically the same as third minus the prestige classes and skill point math. The saves are different but that is easy enough to fix.

 

[TarionzCousin]

DnD Next.

 

[Dragonblade]

Third probably. Fifth is basically the same as third minus the prestige classes and skill point math. The saves are different but that is easy enough to fix.

You could use the basic adventure structure from any prior edition module except maybe 4e, but you would want to dump the monster stats and magic items and use 5e equivalents.

Also, 3e has a tendency to require skill checks for way too many things, and I'd tone that way down. Pre-3e edition games were much more about rewarding cleverness and strong play without gating everything behind skill checks and die rolls. I recommend keeping some of that traditional approach in 5e.

 

[aramis erak]

You could use the basic adventure structure from any prior edition module except maybe 4e, but you would want to dump the monster stats and magic items and use 5e equivalents.

Also, 3e has a tendency to require skill checks for way too many things, and I'd tone that way down. Pre-3e edition games were much more about rewarding cleverness and strong play without gating everything behind skill checks and die rolls. I recommend keeping some of that traditional approach in 5e.

Late 2E did much the same, but with much more difference between skilled and unskilled at low levels, and much less difference between low-level skill plus high level skill. In many ways, 5E is closer in tone to early 2E. (It feels VERY unlike 3.x to me.)

Any non-4E adventure should be fairly easily converted.

 

[Inchoroi]

I've had success at converting both 2e and Pathfinder adventures (GDQ & Rise of the Runelords, at the moment). Both require you to take the scenarios and apply your own monsters and treasure, however; I think I prefer the Pathfinder, solely because of better art (GDQ is going great, though).

You'll find that DCs from converting 3.pf to 5e should drop by about 5-7, and you'll have to ignore all the different skill suggestions, because you do not have nearly that many to choose from (I always forget about Investigation now; keep trying to substitute Survival, which devalues the Investigation proficiency). Treasure and magic items in 3.pf need to be thrown out and redone entirely (unless plot-required; then they must be made out of whole cloth).

In converting 2e, I've had to change the number and layout of monsters a bit; GDQ has a lot of giants that come in at differing times in the first few adventures, including a frost giant right at the beginning (as a note, I don't like the idea that characters get captured in Scourge of the Slave Lords, so I'm actually running GDQ as a continuation of the Lost Mines of Phandelver). The philosophy of monsters being more useful for longer in a DM's planning plays well into your hands, but you'll still have to be careful when putting in monsters, even substituting types and renaming them (using hill giants for 'frost giant young', for example). Like 3.pf, you also have to completely redo treasure and magic items--they're a lot more prevalent than I remember...

 

[Hollow Man]

I've been looking at my 1e modules, and there's definitely a lot more treasure in those. Haven't been sure how to go about it, so any suggestions are welcome.

-HM

 

[aramis erak]

I've been looking at my 1e modules, and there's definitely a lot more treasure in those. Haven't been sure how to go about it, so any suggestions are welcome.

-HM

Step 1:
monsters. Use the ones of the same name, but number of them may need tweaking.
If not in 5E yet, find something similar.

The balance factor was same number of HD in AD&D... equal was a hard fight, but not deadly... so figure the expected HD for the module, and use that as the ratio of hard max XP... at least, if you want similar lethality.

Some gain spellcasting in AD&D but not 5E; use the DMG to rerate the CR for caster of same level as listed.

Step 2: magic items
Same Name? use as is.
not same? find something similar, or fake it.
Divide weapon/armor plusses in half; round up.

Step 3: Spells
Many have changed. just use the closest.

Step 4: non-magic treasure: no conversion needed unless

step 5: Class & level NPC's
Level ≤ 20: use same race, class and level.
Level ≥ 20: level is 20; each 2-3 lost levels might be one boon...

 

[Hollow Man]

Step 4: non-magic treasure: no conversion needed

As I said in my post, this is actually the part I was curious about. While the rest (monsters etc) I feel I can just substitute with the 5e equiv and run with it, I find the amount of treasure rewarded in 1e to be abundant, and am curious to know how people limit it.

Much thanks,

-HM

 

[HEEGZ]

You can limit treasure by rolling on the treasure tables in the DMG. Or you can just pick and choose from suggestions in the original adventures. The monsters are probably the hardest to convert, so you shouldn't have any major issues really. I've been converting D&D Next and 4ed adventures with relative ease, and I think its one of my favorite features of 5th edition.